Marli
by Kassandra221B
Summary: A case that Gibbs thought would never be solved and has been cold since he and Jenny were partners is re-opened simply by a girl running from her violent step-father.JIBBS! please read & review!
1. Chapter 1

Marli was running faster than her legs could go. Her breathing was labored, and her chest ached. Her favorite ratty green jacket was covered in blood from the knife wound on her arm running from her wrist to her elbow. Her ribs hurt every time she took a breath which was more like gasping now. Her heart felt like it was going to burst through her chest and she was getting extremely tired, but she knew one thing; she was for no reason at all going to stop running.

"Marli get back here now!" The man behind her roared. His voice was getting closer and closer._ "Shit he's catching up" _she thought.

"Yeah right Freddy!" she yelled back but instantly regretted it since her ribs painfully prostested and the effort to yell made it even harder for her to catch her breath without feeling like she was being stabbed. She didn't know how close he was and she needed to know. She took the chance of being caught by turning her head just enough to see that Freddy was much farther than she thought. _"Maybe I have a chance this time" _When she turned her head back she saw a corner coming up ahead and started to go around it when she ran into someone and was pushed to the ground.

_"How the hell did he get in front of me was I really going that slow?"_ She hit the ground with a thud and hoped to god it wasn't Freddy in front of her, as she looked up she couldn't help but gasp in relief. The man in front of her was definitely not Freddy.

"Hey! Watch where your going kid" the man yelled. He was tall with silver hair and blue eyes, in his hand he held a Caf-Pow! and the other a coffee cup that once held coffee but was now all over both Marli's jacket and his. That's when she saw the badge on his belt. _"Thank god a cop I'm saved" _She shot to her feet despite the pain it caused her and pleaded for help between gasps.

"Please sir....help...." she took one painful deep breath and finished "My step-dad is behind me, he's going to kill me please!" Just as she finished the sentence she felt a large hand grab her uninjured arm. Hard. She caught the mans eye whom she ran into and pleaded for help to do something, to help her.

He obviously heard her silent plea because he dropped the drinks in his hand and grabbed Freddy's arm that was tugging her with him and stepped between her and Freddy.

"Let her go" he spoke with such a cold and calm voice that sent shivers down her spine. He was glaring at Freddy that was so dangerous that she thought Freddy would start on fire. Then she noticed Freddy's eyes and they scared her even more; they were murderous. She knew that look, it was the same one he got when he was on one of his drunken rampages. Freddy's grip on her arm loosened but not enough for her to wriggle her arm free. She was damn sure if he was holding any tighter her bones would snap. She also knew she was gonna have a really bad bruise.

"Who are you to tell me what to do, she is my daughter and she is running away from home" his grip loosened just enough for Marli to tear her arm free.

"That's a lie Freddy," she screamed "You tried to kill me you lying bastard and I am not your daughter!" she held up her arm with the torn sleeve and the gash underneath the material.

The silver haired man glanced back from Freddy and looked at the wound, she saw his eyes widen and he turned his glare back to Freddy. He opened his jacket to reveal his badge and the pistol that Marli didn't see before.

"To answer your question I am a special agent and your not taking her anywhere" he stepped further to put himself between Freddy and Marli "I suggest you back off and leave her alone" he said taking a step towards Freddy. Marli couldn't believe what was happening, this man was actually going to save her.

"She is my daughter and she going with me because she is..." Freddy started to rant but he was cut off mid-sentence.

"No, she is coming with me to get medical attention" The agents voice got louder and yet it stayed confusingly calm. Marli could she Freddy's fists clenched and turn his stare from the agent to her.

"Come on Marli lets go, NOW!" He yelled as he pointed at her making her flinch and then pointed at the ground near his feet like you do a dog when you want it to obey and come to you. _"He thinks I'm actually coming with him, yeah right and let him finish the job"_

Marli stepped backwards and shook her head "No Freddy, I am not going with you" she paused and looked at the agent "I am going with him".

Freddy looked at the agent and back at her his lip was curled up and you could see his teeth clenched tight. Freddy lunged at her mumbling curses but was stopped by the fist that the agent had swung. He was effectively knocked out and hit the pavement hard. Marli gasped in shock at how fast the silver haired agent had moved. _"Maybe he's not as old as he looks, the hair sure had me fooled I guess it fooled Freddy too"_ She smiled and watched as the agent bent down to cuff the passed out man on the ground who face first in a puddle of Caf-Pow! and then turned his attention to her.

"You okay?" he asked as he walked up and reached for her injured arm to look at the wound. Marli hissed in pain as he pulled back the sleeve of her jacket.

"No, My ribs are messed up it hurts to breath and my arm throbs" She felt stupid for saying that. _"Duh, I think he can she that your arm throbs you idiot" _

"What's your name by the way Special Agent...?" She looked up at him smiled to see that his blue eyes no longer had that dangerouse glare and was replaced by concern. She wondered if he had heard her when he hadn't replied to her question and was about to repeat it when he spoke.

"Gibbs, just Gibbs" he answered.

"I'm Marli, in case you didn't hear him screaming it" she tried laughing but doubled over clutching her ribs when they sent a sharp pain into her lungs. Gibbs grabbed her shoulder holding steady and then motioned for her to carefully take off her jacket and used it to put pressure on the gash that was bleeding more profusely than she realized.

"Keep the pressure on it Marli" He looked up at her and waited for her to acknowledge that she heard him. When she nodded her head he pulled a cell phone from his jacket. Never taking his eyes off her he spoke, "DiNozzo, gear up and get down here to the coffee shop" he barked and hung up snapping the phone shut and putting it back in his jacket. He grabbed her hand motioning for her to let go of the jacket so he could see if the bleeding had let up which it hadn't so he replaced the jacket and put pressure back on it.

Marli's ribs started to hurt really bad, and she started to feel lightheaded. "Gibbs, I'm really lightheaded and my ribs are hurting worse than they did before" she could feel herself start to sway and she reached her hand out to grab his arm and steady herself. She jumped when she heard squealing of tires accompanied by blaring of carhorns and looked towards the direction where the noise came from. She saw a big truck that said NCIS on the side of it.

_"Oh my god, so he's a NCIS special agent" _She gasped when it came roaring down the street and abruptly stopped at the curb next to her and Gibbs. She didn't know a truck of that size could stop that fast. There was still screeching of tires and she saw two more vehicles heading towards them. Two blue Chargers pulled up going slightly slower than the truck had and parked behind it at the curb.

A tall man with brunette hair got out of the first blue Charger and walked up to Marli and Gibbs. He was wearing a black jacket, and a black jacket that had NCIS in big letter on both. He looked at Marli and he apparently saw the blood because his eyes went big as he looked back at Gibbs.

"Boss what's going on, is she okay?" He then looked over at the man face first on the ground handcuffed and pointed at him, "Who's he boss?"

"As of right now he's a suspect DiNozzo so take him in, I'm gonna take her to Ducky" Gibbs turned to Marli and motioned for her to follow him to the Charger DiNozzo had gotten out of. They were stopped by DiNozzo's voice.

"So we didn't need the truck boss?" he asked as he pointed to the truck and looked at Gibbs.

Marli watched as Gibbs just glared at DiNozzo and smiled when the man simply turned around and did what he was told. The smile quickly faded when she felt like she was gonna pass out. She tugged on Gibbs' arm to get his attention.

"Gibbs, I..." she felt her legs go limp and someone catching her before she blacked out. Gibbs had turned around from glaring at DiNozzo to catch her just in time.

TBC.....


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own NCIS or the characters. I do own Marli however.**

**This chapter is more Gibbs point of view. Sorry for the late update I kept changing the chapter because I didnt know how I wanted it to go. **

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Gibbs picked Marli up and set her into the front seat of the Charger. He debated whether or not to take her to the hospital instead of just taking her to Ducky, but the only doctor he trusted was Ducky so he decided on his original plan. As he closed the passenger side door he pulled out his phone to call Ducky, he didnt want to bring a hurt kid into autopsy with a body laid out on the table.

"Hello Jethro, what do I owe this phone call, usually you come and talk to me in person very rarely do you call me on the phone. The last time you..." the scottish man was about to continue when Gibbs interrupted him.

"You got any bodies Duck?" he asked as he started the car and pulled away from the curb towards the Navy Yard.

"No, No I haven't the family of PFC. Hanes came and picked up his body earlier, so my tables are empty at the moment. You have a case Jethro?" Ducky inquired.

"No, but I have someone that needs your help" he answered and looked over when he heard Marli groan. "Got to go Duck" he said as he hung up the phone. He looked over at Marli and saw she had her eyes closed and she was holding her injured arm to her chest. _"I've seen her before, but where" _he thought as he pulled into the parking garage. _"Why does she seem so familiar"_

As he pulled his car into the parking space and unbuckled his seatbelt he heard Marli groan again. He looked over at her as he killed the engine. She blinked her eyes a few times and finally opened them looking around confused. When her eyes landed on his he noticed the color of them for the first time. They were a steel grey, a color that seemed so familiar. He could've sworn just by her eyes that he knew her but for the life of him he could'nt come up with where he had seen her before. He would definitely figure it out later but right now he wanted to get her to Ducky.

"Where are we anyway" Marli asked as she looked out her window and then back at Gibbs.

"NCIS, come on lets get you looked at" Gibbs replied getting out of the car and going around to Marli's side and opened her door. He was about to offer her help but she swung her legs out of the car and stood up before he could say anything. Gibbs noticed that she was leaning forward slightly and she still had her injured arm clutched to her chest. She was also putting most of her weight on the car.

He closed the door and put his hand on her shoulder to signal to her that they were gonna start walking. "Come on" he said walking close to her so if she blacked out again he could easily catch her. He could tell she was trying to stand straighter and ignore the pain her ribs were causing her. He thought back to when she ran into him spilling his coffee and Abby's Caf-Pow! She had been going pretty fast and he couldn't believe that a girl her age could run that far with damaged ribs. He also realized that she couldn't be more than sixteen years old. _"I'll send Dinozzo later to get Abby's Caf-Pow! while I interrogate the jerk that did this to her"_ he thought.

When they got in the elevator Marli wrapped her good arm around Gibbs' and leaned into him. "It hurts to stand, can't believe I actually ran that far" she said aloud and Gibbs guessed it was more to herself than to him.

As the elevator slowed to the floor of Autopsy Gibbs felt Marli lean further into him so he was supporting most of her weight. He turned and picked Marli up. She gasped when his hand bumped into her ribs. When the doors opened he carried her out of the elevator to the doors that led to autopsy. He stood in front of them and waited for the sensor to tell the doors to swish open.

"You didn't have to carry me you know, but thanks Gibbs" Marli said as they walked into Autopsy. Gibbs nodded and looked over to see Ducky sitting at his desk and walked towards him. "Borrow a chair Duck" he asked.

Marli watched the older man turn around and his eyes went wide in surprise. "My god Jethro what happened? Here set her down here" Ducky got up and went over to a cabinet. "I'm guessing by the looks of it I will need my medical bag".

Marli hissed in pain when Gibbs set her down in the chair. As he did he told the doctor of her injuries "She has a cut on her left arm going from her wrist to her elbow which might need stitches and her ribs might be broken". He said as he knelt down to the right of her while Ducky knelt to her left to tend to her arm.

"Well hello my dear and what is your name?" he asked as he carefully picked up her arm and pulled her jacket that Gibbs had used to stop the bleeding off the wound.

"Marli...Marli Warren" she winced when the material of the jacket stuck to her arm because some of the blood had dried. "I like your accent and what is your name I mean is Ducky your real name?"

"Thank you, My Name is Dr. Donald Mallard but all my friends call me Ducky" he said as he inspected her arm "Well my dear it appears that you won't need any stitches just some antiseptic and a gauze bandage, now about your ribs..."

"Oh don't worry about them, I hurt them a while ago and I think I messed them up when I ran from Freddy" Marli said as she looked over at Gibbs who was watching her and listening.

Gibbs was thinking about how he knew her and why the name Warren seemed so familiar when he noticed Marli looking at him. "How long ago did you injure your side" he asked since she had been favoring her left side more than her right. _"How long as this dirtbag been beating her"_ he thought and his hand clenched into a fist. _"This guy is a dead man"_

Marli watched as Gibbs eyes turned into that cold glare that she had seen when he took down Freddy and knew what he was thinking. "A few weeks ago, maybe two weeks I don't really remember exactly how long ago" Marli answered she really didn't remember when Freddy had kicked the crap out her and kicked her in the ribs. He had hit her so many times she had forgetten which time it was.

Gibbs nodded and looked over at Ducky who was finishing putting tape to keep the gauze on the cut and then started cleaning some of the dried blood off her arm and her hand around the bandage. He also noticed that there was blood on her t-shirt and a little on her jeans. He would have to find her some different clothes later but for now he needed to know what happened, but he also needed to know if Freddy was a Marine or Sailor, otherwise Director Shepard would give him to Metro and he wanted to make sure the bastard suffered in his own interrogation room.

"Marli is Freddy a Marine or a Sailor" Gibbs asked hoping that the answer was yes and almost smiled when she nodded her head.

"You want to know because NCIS only deals with the Navy and the Marines huh?" she asked when Gibbs nodded she continued "He's a former Marine".

"Okay, Ducky are we done" Gibbs asked as he was itching to get back upstairs and talk to this bastard.

"Yep we are all done, It was very nice to meet you Marli" Ducky said and held out his hand for Marli to shake it.

She took his hand and slowly stood up "Nice to meet you too Ducky". As she let go of his hand she looked over at Gibbs and was about to ask what next when his phone rang.

Gibbs looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Dinozzo "Yeah Gibbs" he paused as he listened to the other caller. "He what! How the hell did he escaped Dinozzo He was knocked cold, search for him DiNozzo thats what I want you to do!" he yelled and then hung up. He looked at Marli and put his hand on her shoulder when he noticed that she was trembling. "Marli, I will protect you from him okay I promise" he promised and decided he needed to get her out of this cold autopsy room and somewhere where he could talk to her and find out what was going on with Freddy. _"Maybe I'll find out why she seems so familiar"_

"Where are we going Gibbs?" Marli asked. If Freddy had escaped then he would be looking for her. She wasn't safe anywhere and she wasn't sure where Gibbs was gonna take her.

"I'm taking you to meet the Director" Gibbs answered as he walked with her towards the elevator. As the elevator doors closed he called out "Thanks again Duck!"

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**please please review i need to know how i am doing!!! this is my first story so i definitely need the advice and dont hesitate to be harsh because i probably need it. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the third chapter sorry it took so long I got distracted by school and I also got writers block...Already on the third chapter lol. In this chapter we will see Gibbs start to investigate why Marli is so familiar. Thanks for the reviews and I hope to get more!!!!**

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_"Where are we going Gibbs?" Marli asked. If Freddy had escaped then he would be looking for her. She wasn't safe anywhere and she wasn't sure where Gibbs was gonna take her. _

_"I'm taking you to meet the Director" Gibbs answered as he walked with her towards the elevator. As the elevator doors closed he called out "Thanks again Duck!"_

In the elevator it finally hit Marli, the feeling she hated the most. Fear. Freddy had escaped which meant he would be out there looking for her. Gibbs had promised to protect her but how could he protect her. She looked over at Gibbs and then back down at her black converse thats when she saw how bad her clothes looked. Her jeans had blood on them most likely from her arm and her shirt also had blood on them. She grimaced when she caught whiff of the metallic smell of the blood. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it out so she could see if the stain went all the way around to her back when Gibbs spoke.

"Marli, before we see the Director I want to stop and get you something to wear" He looked over at Marli and then hit a button on the elevator starting its ascent.

_"I'll take her to Abby she usually has a NCIS jumpsuit handy that Marli can borrow. Maybe Abbs can do a search and find out why she seems so familiar as well" _Gibbs thought. He looked over at Marli and noticed she was still looking down at her shoes. Her long dark hair was hanging so that he couldn't see her face. What he could see was that she was still shaking slightly, it was barely noticeable but it was there. Whether it was from fear or pain he didn't know, but he was willing to bet it was both.

When the elevator doors opened Marli lifted her head to the sound of blaring music, if you could call it music. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked over at Gibbs with what she guessed was a wierd look because he kinda chuckled and said "We're here".

As they stepped off the elevator Gibbs turned and motioned for her to wait at the door. She nodded and he disappeared into the room, a few seconds later and the music was off and she could hear a female voice protesting. When he came back he motioned for her to follow him. As she followed him she looked around the room it looked like a science lab. There was dozens of machines and computers she had never seen before. The second thing she noticed was a woman with a white coat and black pigtails digging in a drawer. She had big black boots and Marli wondered how she could walk in them. When the woman turned around Marli saw she had a short skirt and was holding a red bundle in her hand, as she walked up to Marli she introduced herself.

"I'm Abigail Scuito, but you can call me Abby. What's your name?" She asked as she held out her hand and Marli shook it.

"Marli Warren, its nice to meet you Abby" Marli smiled. For dressing in all black Abby didn't seem all that bad.

Abby held out the hand that had the red bundle to Marli "Here's a jumpsuit for you to change into, Gibbs said that you needed something to wear and I hope that it is small enough"

"Thank you" Marli took the jumpsuit and then looked at Abby and then Gibbs with a frown. Gibbs seemed to understand and turned to point at an office in the back of the lab.

"You can change back there Marli, okay? Abby will help you if you need it" he offered. Marli shook her head indicating she didn't need help and headed to the back room. She turned to see Gibbs talking to Abby and Abby walking over to the computer in the middle of the room.

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After Marli left to change Gibbs turned to Abby. "Abbs I need you to search Marli's name, not right now but when we leave"

"Okay Gibbs but what am I looking for?" Abby asked.

"Any record of her to see if she has any family in the area, besides her stepfather, that she can stay with." He hoped that they would find family and wondered if her mother was still in the picture. He also hoped by Abby doing the search he could find out why she was familiar.

"As soon as I find something Bossman you'll be the first to know. Well technically second because I will know I have found something before you" She began.

"Abbs" Gibbs warned. He knew she was getting started on one of her rambles and stopped her before she got totally started.

"Right as soon as I know you know" Abby said.

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When the door closed Marli set the jumpsuit on the table by the door. Her first task was to take her shoes off. She slowly bent over and was surprised that her ribs didn't hurt as bad as she thought they would. As soon as she got her shoes off she stood up and worked on taking off her jeans and shirt. The big bruise that was on her ribs was big and purple still. She definitely messed them up again trying to escape from Freddy. She grabbed the jumpsuit and put it on. the legs were too long as were the sleeves. She rolled up the legs so she wouldn't trip and grabbed her Converse and slipped them on. The bloody jeans and shirt smelled like blood and she was happy to get rid of them. Marli opened the office door and walked out into the lab where Gibbs and Abby were waiting.

"I don't know what to do with these, Gibbs" She held out the clothes and Abby came up and took them putting them into a brown paper bag.

"Thank you, Abby" Marli smiled and Abby smiled and nodded. When she was free from holding onto the dirty clothes she worked on rolling up her sleeves that went way past her hands.

"You ready to meet the Director?" Gibbs asked as Abby took Marli's clothes and set them on her evidence table. He wondered if Marli knew why Abby had taken her clothes in a paper bag or even why she had gloves on but he didn't think so. Gibbs was ready to talk to the Director and find out what to do with Marli while he found out who they could call to come get her. He also wanted to get out there and see if he can track down Freddy.

Marli had just finished working on her sleeves. "I think so, thanks again Abby for the clothes. It was really nice to meet you" Marli walked up to Abby and held out her hand.

When Abby shook it. Marli turned around and walked towards Gibbs. "See you later Abbs" He said as he walked out of the lab with Marli following close behind.

When they got out of the lab the loud music that was playing before came blasting back on. Marli looked up at Gibbs who just shrugged and pressed the up button so they could get in the elevator and away from the music.

When they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed Marli asked "What is the Director like Gibbs?"

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**What do you think? The next chapter will be up today as well. Please Please Review!!!!!!!!!! Was it a little OOC do you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Two chapters in one day!!!! I was trying to make up for how long it took to update. I have realized that is very slow moving but hopefully it will speed up. I might have to write longer chapters so it doesn't seem so slow but it is just the beginning so yeah reviews! Reviews!!!!**

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_When they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed Marli asked "What is the Director like Gibbs?"_

Gibbs smiled as he turned towards Marli "You'll like her" He said simply and turned back toward the doors.

Marli nodded, she like the idea of NCIS having a woman Director. "What's her name?" she then asked. She turned to see Gibbs still smiling and wondered why he seemed to smile whenever she mentioned the Director.

"Director Shepard" He simply answered again. Marli nodded again and turned back towards the doors. Marli was still scared but when she was around Gibbs she felt safer. She didn't know him more than a few hours but something about him made her trust him, and that kind of scared her. It scared her that she could trust someone so easily after all she has been through. She thought back and realized that she hadn't told Gibbs how she hurt her ribs or her arm. She didn't even tell him what Freddy's last name was. She wanted to tell him though, because if Gibbs was to keep her safe he had to know what Freddy was like. She decided that when they got to Director Shepard's office she would explain what happened.

Marli felt the elevator slow to a stop and the doors opened. She waited for Gibbs to step out and then followed him down the hall. To the right of her she noticed that the Directors office was on a balcony sort of thing looking out over an office area. When they got to a room there was a lady behind a desk that was on the phone. Marli didn't think she was the Director and she was right because kept walking by opening another door into a much bigger room. She followed Gibbs into the office and wondered why the lady on the phone gave him a bad look.

When she walked into the room she saw a red haired woman behind the desk. She was wearing reading glasses and writing something down. The room was big and there was a couch and a big conference table in it. "_The couch looks comfortable"_ Marli thought. Marli's head snapped back to the red haired woman when she spoke.

"Still haven't learned to knock on the door I see Jethro, You know there is a reason Cynthia is out there at that desk. She is supposed to direct visitors to my office" She said never taking her eyes off the paper. Marli wondered who Jethro was and she assumed it was Gibbs' first name. When the director looked up her eyes went straight to Marli and she dropped her pen.

Gibbs could see the look of recognition in the Directors eyes and he wanted to address it but not now. "I have someone I want you to meet Director" Gibbs motioned to Marli "Marli Warren this is Director Jenny Shepard". Jenny rose from her desk and walked around it to shake Marli's hand. She was dressed in business attire and very high heels.

"Nice to meet you Madame Director" Marli shook her hand.

"Please just call me Jenny" Jenny turned to head back behind her desk and stood. Gibbs went to stand in front of the desk and Marli followed.

Gibbs could see that Jenny definitely recognized Marli and he needed to talk to her right now. It seemed Jenny felt the same way because she beat him to it.

"Marli, Gibbs and I have to speak for a moment. Do you wanna go sit on the couch while we speak?" Jenny asked and set her reading glasses down on her desk.

Marli looked at Gibbs who nodded that what Jenny had said was true. Marli turned around and walked over to the couch. It was really comfortable, just like she thought it would be and watched as Gibbs and Jenny walked over to a corner to talk.

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When they got to the place where they could talk Gibbs spoke first "You know her, don't you Jen?"

"You should too Jethro, Her mother was Anna Warren" When Jenny said that name, Gibbs realized exactly how he knew Marli. Jenny continued "Anna Warren was a murder victim that we investigated together back when we were partners. You don't recognize her? She has the same steel grey eyes her mother did."

Gibbs nodded "I knew she seemed familiar but I couldn't place her ".

This time Jenny nodded and looked towards Marli's direction "What happened to her Jethro?"

"She was running from her stepfather Freddy and literally ran into me, she has a big cut on her arm and some messed up ribs. Freddy got away" He was still mad that Freddy had escaped.

"Freddy, you mean Fredrick Woodside" Jenny's eyes went big as she asked. The name also rang a bell for Gibbs.

"Yeah, I guess DiNozzo was supposed to bring him in but somehow he got away. Why?" He asked

"Fredrick Woodside was one of the suspects we were looking into for Anna Warren's murder but there was absolutely no evidence and the case went cold after a few months. After that we went on assignment in Europe and never got to the case again." Jenny continued "Did she say how she got the ribs and cut on her arm?" she asked.

Gibbs shook his head "I was wondering if you could talk to her about that. She might be more comfortable talking to a woman and..."

"You want to get out there to find Freddy" Jenny smiled and Gibbs reluctantly nodded. _"She knows me too well"_ He thought.

"Oh and Jen do you know if she has any family besides Freddy?" he asked and when Jenny shook her head his stomache dropped.

"Her mother and Freddy were all she had. Her birth father was a Marine killed in combat three months after she was born" Jenny said and looked over to where Marli was sitting. Gibbs just nodded. _"Where is she gonna stay tonight"_ he thought. He would think about that later, but right now he needed to find DiNozzo and head back down to Abby's to see if she found anything. Even though Jenny pretty much told him everything he told Abby to find.

"It's okay she stays here?" Gibbs asked

"Do I have a choice Jethro?" Jenny answered with a smile.

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Marli watched as the two adults talked. She watched as Jenny looked over at her direction and knew they were talking about her. They were probably talking about the easiest way to tell her that she had to stay with child services. When they were done talking they made there way towards her and Gibbs spoke as Jenny sat on the couch by Marli.

"Marli, I want you to stay here while I go and find out what happened with Freddy okay?" He then knelt down and continued "Jenny will help you if you need anything and I'll be back later". Marli looked over to Jenny and then back to Gibbs and nodded. She felt safe with the Director of NCIS and she understood that he couldn't find Freddy with her following him.

"Okay" he said and stood up to leave, he nodded at Jenny and then walked out of the room. Gibbs headed down to Abby's lab to tell her what Jenny had told him and then up to see if DiNozzo was back yet.

Marli looked over to Jenny and she felt the fear again. Involuntarily she started to shake, somehow she had this feeling that Jenny was going to tell her that she would have to stay with Child Services tonight. She didn't want to go there at all. Freddy would be able to find her there easily and then she would be dead, literally.

Jenny noticed that Marli was shaking and she reached out to put her hand on Marli's shoulder. "Hey Marli, what's wrong" Jenny inquired.

Marli cursed herself for shaking like she did. "I don't want to go to Child Services, he'll find me there, he always finds me" Marli could feel tears well up but she held them back. She could hear Freddy's voice in her head _"Don't ever cry, Crying is a weakness and nobody living in my house is weak!"_

Jenny was taken aback by this statement "Why do you say that Marli?"

"Isn't that what you and Gibbs were talking about?" Marli looked up and met Jenny's eyes.

"No, Agent Gibbs was asking me if you could stay here so he could go find out how Freddy got away" Jenny was surprised at how well this girl could hold back tears, she could tell Marli was choking up but she didn't shed a tear.

"Oh" Marli replied. "I didn't get to tell him what happened, I was gonna tell him when we got here but you guys were talking and I forgot" She looked back down at her hands and started messing with her sleeve that was coming unrolled.

"You can wait for him to come back or you can tell me what happened if you like" Jenny suggested. She hoped Marli would tell her so she could get it off her chest. Jenny could tell that Marli was thinking about what she suggested and waited for Marli to respond. Marli thought about it and figured since Gibbs trusted Jenny that she could trust jenny as well.

Marli nodded "Okay I'll tell you what happened. You want me to tell you how my ribs got messed up or why I was running?" She asked.

"What ever you want to tell me" Jenny answered.

"Okay, ummm ribs first then since that started today's rampage" Marli took in a deep breath as big as her ribs would allow and began.

"A few weeks ago I decided that the only way that I could stop getting beaten was to leave. Freddy likes to drink a lot and usually is so drunk that he doesn't notice anything. That night I waited until he was drunk or at least I thought he was really drunk, he must not have been because as I opened the front door I felt him grab my hair and yank me back into the house" Marli stopped for a second to control herself from tearing up and then started again. "He then picked me up screaming at me and threw me against the wall and when I hit the floor I started running away from him, But he was just to fast because he grabbed my hair again and starting punching me in the ribs" Marli put her hand over her ribs and winced.

"Take your time Marli" Jenny put her hand on Marli's shoulder and waited for her to continue.

"I don't remember much after that but I knew no matter what I had to get out of there. So today while he was gone I found a window that wasn't locked, so I got it open and just as I was about a block away he drives past me and I run as fast as I can. He must've gotten home and found the window open because he came running after me. He caught up to me a couple times and the last time he came at me with his knife, thats how I got the cut on my arm" Marli held up her arm and showed Jenny the gauze bandage. " I kicked him in the groin and then ran as hard as I could, thats when I ran into Gibbs and he knocked Freddy out. I think I passed out or something because I woke up in the car with Gibbs." Marli stopped and looked over at Jenny who was still listening.

"Then Gibbs took me to see Ducky who patched up my arm and then we saw Abby who got me this jumpsuit" she pulled at the sleeve that was coming unrolled again.

Jenny noticed that she was having trouble with the sleeve and reached over to help "Here let me help you" Marli held out her arm so Jenny could roll up the sleeve and winced when she bumped into the cut on her arm.

"Sorry Marli" Jenny apologized.

"It's okay, it happens" she reassured Jenny.

Marli sat there and wondered about what she was worrying about earlier. Gibbs had promised to protect her and she trusted him, but what if Jenny told him that she had to go to Child Services. She wasn't gonna ask in case Jenny got mad but when Gibbs came back she was definitely ask him.

Jenny was thinking about what Marli had just told her about Freddy. She couldn't believe that bastard had been beating her. She wondered if he beat Marli's mother too, he was a suspect in the case but there was no evidence and it went cold. She looked over at Marli who was deep in thought and decided that later she would pull the Anna Warren case and reopen it for Marli, but first she wanted to get Freddy off the street and Gibbs was working on that. All she had to do was take care of Marli. That brought up the question. Where was she going to stay?

TBC.......

* * *

**So happy valentines day!!!! my gift of love to you is two chapters my friends! So your gift to me can be lots and lots of reviews!!!!!!!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**This one is a little shorter. Sorry for the delay but a lot of stuff has been goin on. I hope you like it and I hope it is not too OOC.**

Gibbs was heading down to Ducky's. He had called him while he was in the lab with Abby telling him that DiNozzo and the team were down there. He had just explained to Abby everything that Jenny had told him and told Abby to open Anna Warren's casefile. He didn't wait for her to do so, he just left on account he wanted to avoid the many questions that would arise once Abby saw who his partner on the case was. Something told him she would track him down later and ask, but he didn't want to think about that right now. He needed to find out what happened with Freddy and then figure out where Marli would stay for the night.

He started thinking about when he and Jenny were partners and a smile involuntarily creeped onto his face. Images of Paris and Serbia flashed through his mind and thats when he stopped himself. He couldn't go there anymore. She had left him and now she was the Director of NCIS. No doubt he still cared for her, but he doubted that she cared for him that way that he does for her. _"It's all in the past Gunny" _he thought to himself. Just then the elevator came to a hault and the doors opened with a ding signaling he was at his destination.

As he stepped out towards the Autopsy doors he could see the team inside. Tony was on one of the tables with Ducky putting some bandages on a cut on his forehead. McGee and Ziva were standing near the door with their backs to it so he couldn't see their faces but by their body postures he could tell they were worried. As he got closer to the doors they opened with a hiss and the agents turned to look at him.

"What happened" he asked and fixed his best glare on Tony. He lessened it when he saw the damage Freddy had caused. Tony had a swollen black eye, an apparent broken nose, and a minor cut on his forehead.

"Honestly boss, bad guys really need to pick a different target than my nose. It's getting a little old" Tony started but the glare saying get to the point from Gibbs made cut to the chase, "You drove away and I turned around to pick up the guy and he was standing right in front of me. I don't know how but he picked the cuffs and before I could even throw a punch he headbutted me and then punch me in the face. I must've hit my head because thats all I remember" He finished by putting the ice pack Ducky had gone to retrieve on his eye with a gasp of pain.

Gibbs turned towards Ziva and McGee when he heard Ziva speak "I chased him for almost four blocks but he was gone Gibbs. McGee stayed behind with Tony" Gibbs noticed she looked angry at herself for letting the bastard get away and he knew she hated that more than he did.

Gibbs nodded and turned back towards DiNozzo and decided that he needed to go home. There was no way that he would be useful dosed up on the painkillers that Gibbs was sure Ducky gave him. He remembered how funny was acting last time he broke his nose, plus it was getting late and the team needed some sleep. Afterall they had just closed a big case just that morning and none of them had gone home in two days.

"Ziva, take Tony home and then go home yourself. That goes for you too McGee" he turned and looked at all of the agents. When DiNozzo started to argue he stopped him with his glare and Tony relented.

"See ya in the morning boss" Tony said as he went to stand up, but started to sway. Luckily Ziva had rushed up and caught him before he could fall and started to help him walk out of Autopsy and towards the elevator. McGee who hadn't said a word turned around before he exited the doors and wished both Gibbs and Ducky a good night before he rushed to get in the elevator with the others.

Gibbs turned around and started towards Ducky's desk where he was presently sitting and putting away files into his drawers. As Gibbs stood next to him Ducky spoke.

"Jethro, I'm glad you were not too hard on Anthony like you sometimes are" he chuckled when he saw the look Gibbs was giving him. "Don't look at me like that Jethro, you know its true. Anyway thats not what I wanted to say, I wanted to ask you if you were gonna turn Marli over to Social Services?"

Gibbs knew where this was going and right then he had made up his mind. He shook his head "No Duck, she has been traumatized enough. Freddy is still out there and I promised her I would keep her safe".

"A Marine's word is never broken I see" Ducky smiled and was happy that Gibbs was gonna take care of Marli. "Well, I think it is time for me to head home my dear Jethro, Mother will be wondering where I am" He turned back and locked his desk drawer and than got up to retrieve his hat and coat of the hanger. "Call me if you need anything", and with that he walked out of Autopsy leaving Gibbs by himself.

Gibbs headed out as well but instead of taking the elevator for the umpteenth time he opted for the stairs and began climbing up to the bullpen to grab his coat and then up to Jenny's. He knew that Jenny would be asking where Marli would be staying like everyone else had, but he didn't mind. He wondered what Jenny and Marli were doing while he was gone. He knew that Jenny was great with kids and that Marli would be okay, but Marli had began to close up and was being very quiet. He also wondered if Marli had told Jenny what had happened with Freddy. He knew that Marli would probably tell him in her own time, and that she probably felt safer telling Jenny than him.

As he reached the bullpen in record time he noticed that all the lights were out meaning that the team had left quickly. He grabbed his coat from his desk and shut the lamp off, he barely used his computer that day so there was no need to shut it down since it was already off. He jogged towards the stairs leading to Jenny's office leaped up them by twos. As he neared the Directors office he noticed Cynthia had packed up and gone home too. When he reached the door he opened it and walked in.

TBC.......

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**Is it moving too slow? more JIBBS in the coming chapters. Again SORRY for the delay!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I wanna thank my lovely sister for helping my out with this chapter. She kept me focused and helped **

**Kick writers block in the butt. Thank you Grace!**

…...

When Gibbs walked into Jenny's office he saw something that made him smile. Jenny was sitting on the floor across from Marli. They were drawing on pieces of copy paper with crayons. He had no idea where the crayons came from but he was glad to see that Marli wasn't closing up. He also like to see that Jenny hadn't lost her touch with getting kids to feel comfortable in a foreign situation. Marli was the first one to notice that he came in and looked up. Her eyes were drooping and he could tell that she was tired. Even though she was tired she still smiled and went to stand up.

"You ready to go Marli?" he said which made both the smile on her face fall and Jenny look up surprised. She apparently was in total concentration on her picture that she was drawing. When Jenny noticed it was him she got another look on her face. A look of worry. He could only guess what that worry was aimed at, where Marli would be staying for the night.

Marli didn't like the idea of not knowing where she was going. Was she going to child services or was she going home with him. She knew that if she went to child services it would only be a matter of time before Freddy found her and killed her. She had to ask.

"Are you taking me to child services" she asked as she looked down and started fidgeting with her sleeve of the NCIS overalls that Abby had given her to wear. She didn't want to look him in the face when he told her that she was going to that dreadful place, plus tears were pricking at her eyes and she was taught never to cry. That's when she noticed out of the corner of her eye Jenny standing up. Her mouth opened like she was going to say something but Gibbs spoke before she got to.

"No, your coming home with me if that's alright?" Gibbs watched as both Marli and Jenny sighed in relief. Jenny smiled at him and turned to start picking the crayons. Marli nodded indicating that she wanted to go with Gibbs and then also turned to try and help but faltered when her ribs protested.

"Its okay Marli I've got it. You can go ahead and I'll come over later with some clothes for you" Jenny spoke as she finished picking up the utensils and stood up. Gibbs liked that idea it hadn't even occurred to him that Marli needed clothes since the ones she was wearing had blood on them, and were now in an evidence bag so they could put Freddy away for a long time.

"Thank you Jenny" Marli said as she walked toward Gibbs and stood next to him. "I'm ready" she said and then towards Jenny who was now at her desk "Bye Jenny" she waved with that her and Gibbs walked out.

Jenny was happy that Gibbs had decided that Marli was going to stay with him. She grabbed the folders off her desk and turned her desk lamp off. She would head to the store and try to find Marli some clothes. It's a good thing that she asked her what size she wore when Gibbs left her in her office otherwise it would be a big dilemma. She was also looking forward to seeing Jethro again. At that thought she smiled and stepped out of her office towards her car.

…...

Gibbs found himself unconsciously driving slower. Marli was in the passenger seat trying to fix her matted hair. It looked like it had never seen a brush. He also noticed that she was fairly thin for her height, probably due to the lack of proper care. He hated that Freddy did this to her and he couldn't wait till he had him in his interrogation room. Right now all he wanted to think about was getting Marli home and getting something to eat. He was sure that she was hungry, and his stomach was growling. Marli must have been thinking the same thing because she broke the silence.

"I'm hungry" she put her hand on her stomach and looked in Gibbs direction. He figured that she said it more to herself but he nodded and responded anyway.

"Where would you like to go, we can stop somewhere if you like?" he asked.

Marli's eyes widened in surprise. He actually asked her where she wanted to go. She had never been able to decide what and where she wanted to eat ever. "Really, I can choose?" she asked uncertainly. Gibbs just simply nodded and waited for her decision. She saw a Chinese place up ahead and since she never tried it before she wanted to eat there. She pointed at the Chinese place.

"How about there, I've never had it before" Gibbs nodded and turned the car into the parking lot. He figured he would just get take-out and was glad that she picked this place since he went there often, and knew that the food was good there. As he pulled into the parking space and turned off the car, he motioned for her to follow him because he didn't want to leave her in the car by herself. She obeyed and they walked across the lot into the place. The aromas that hit Marli were so foreign but she didn't mind them she actually thought it smelled good. She stood close to Gibbs not wanting to stray to far away and looked at the menu. There were so many weird things on the menu, but she saw the Sweet and Sour Chicken and decided that it sounded good.

"Can I get the Sweet and Sour Chicken Gibbs?" he nodded and stepped up to the counter and ordered both her and his dinner. The food came out right away and he paid for it, grabbed the takeout boxes and motioned to Marli to go out to the parking lot. He noticed that Marli was staying unusually close to him the entire time in the place and figured it was because she was uncertain of her surroundings. He unlocked the car and placed the food in the backseat and opened Marli's door for her. He rounded the car, got in, started the car, and pulled away.

…...

As Gibbs pulled into the driveway Marli looked around. She had been quiet the whole way home and was glad to finally get there. She was extremely tired and hungry even though the clock on the car radio only said 9:30pm. She got out of the car the same time Gibbs did and waited for him to get the food and then followed him up the drive and to the front door. He didn't even unlock the front door, just opened it and walked in.

Marli looked around and liked what she saw. The living room actually had a couch and a TV. The only TV that was at Freddy's house was in his bedroom. Gibbs walked past the living room and into the kitchen with Marli following right behind. She was confused when he kept walking past the kitchen table and straight to a doorway that apparently led downstairs, he flipped a light switch and headed down the stairs. Marli walked through the doorway and stood at the top of the stairs. She wasn't sure what she saw but there was what looked like a gigantic boat that was upside down and gutted to just the support beams.

"Is that a boat?" she walked down the stairs and pointed towards the structure.

"Yep" Gibbs answered and set the food on the workbench.

"How do you get it out of here then" she asked as walked up to it, she looked around the basement looking for a possible way to get it out but didn't see anything. She didn't touch it for fear he would yell at her, so she turned around and looked at him.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Haven't figured it out yet"

"Oh" She was now next to him and he handed her food to her. She took it gratefully and stood there looking for a place to sit. Gibbs noticed this and grabbed the stool that was behind him, brushed the sawdust off of it and set it in front of Marli. She got up on it and opened her box of food and Gibbs did the same.

"You like it?" he asked as she took a bite. She nodded her head quickly and took another bite.

"It's a lot better than my usual dinner of whatever was in the house. Which was usually not much" she took another bite. She didn't see Gibbs fist tighten around his fork in anger. They quickly finished and Gibbs proceeded to start working on the boat.

Marli just sat there on the stool watching him work. She was picking at the tape on her arm holding the gauze on her cut. It was starting to get itchy but she knew she had to keep it on. She was thinking about how long Gibbs would let her stay with him. Freddy was still out there somewhere and he had apparently attacked that agent that came to take him in. She was broken out of her thoughts by Gibbs' voice.

"You want to help me" he was holding out his hand that held the sanding block he was using previously. Marli carefully of her seat and took the block in her hand. Just as she was going to start sanding she heard footsteps upstairs. Her head flew in the direction of Gibbs with a scared look and he moved to stand in between her and the line of sight from the stairs.

TBC….

…...

**So how was this chapter? Thank you so much for your reviews and I would love more! Is it OOC? Let me know your thoughts guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wrote this at one in the morning so if there is mistakes please let me know and I'll try and correct them. Other than that enjoy!**

...

Jenny walked through her front door carrying three bags from the store of clothes that she hoped Marli would like. She decided to stop at the store first, then come home to get dressed into something more comfortable before she went over to Gibbs house. She set the bags next to the door so she wouldn't forget them and climbed the stairs up to her room. Even though she was wearing her favorite heels she flung them off her feet and cringed when they hit the wall with a smack. She didn't mean to kick them that hard. She peeled off her expensive suit and hung them up in her closet. Jenny found herself thinking about Jethro. He was always on her mind even after she left him. Her biggest regret of all. Rummaging through her closet she chose an old t-shirt and a worn pair of jeans. As she was tying her shoes her mind went to Marli. She seemed so scared in her office earlier that day and when she explained what had happened with Freddy, Jenny could tell that it wasn't a one time thing, and that Freddy probably abused her on a regular basis.

Standing up her stomach growled loudly and realized she hadn't eaten since noon and it was now 09:15. She walked out of her bedroom and descended the stairs into her kitchen that she rarely used. It was suprising that she even knew where everything was but she managed to scrounge together supplies to make a sandwich. Once again her mind went to Marli. She had Abby pull up the file on Anna Warren's case and took it home with her. _"Oh crap it's still in the car. Very responsible Director" _she scolded herself. Quickly finishing the sandwich she ran out to the foyer and grabbed the bags of clothes. Closing the door behind her she headed out to her car and turned the engine over. When she got to Gibbs house they would go over Marli's mothers casefile together.

Looking at the clock reading 09:30 she was surprised she was in the house that long. It only seemed like a few minutes had passed. The ride to Gibbs house would take fifteen minutes and she found herself wishing she could get there faster. Jenny had no clue exactly why she was in such a rush to see Jethro, and she just chalked it up to wanting to make sure Marli was okay. Except in her head, she knew that couldn't be the only reason, but now it dawned on her what that reason could be.

Turning onto Gibbs street, and into his driveway she parked her car and checked herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but chuckle at herself checking her appearance when she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and exited the car grabbing the bags and the case file. As she walked up the steps she went to knock when she remembered Jethro never locked his front door. Shaking her head she walked into the house, she didn't see anyone upstairs and there was no lights on. A light did catch her eye coming from the basement and she headed towards the door leading downstairs. _"Big surprise he's in the basement" _she thought and a smile crept on her face.

...

_"You want to help me" he was holding out his hand that held the sanding block he was using previously. Marli carefully got of her seat and took the block in her hand. Just as she was going to start sanding she heard footsteps upstairs. Her head flew in the direction of Gibbs with a scared look and he moved to stand in between her and the line of sight from the stairs._

Marli slowly backed up as she heard the footsteps upstairs getting closer to the basement door. She ducked under the boat and hoped that whoever was upstairs wouldn't see her. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped to God that the person upstairs wasn't Freddy. She knew he would find her, it was inevitable but she thought it would take longer than this for him to find her. "Don't let it be him, Don't let it be him, Don't let it be him, please" she whispered and her prayers where answered when she heard a familiar voice. Even though she recognized the voice she kept her eyes shut tight in case it was her head giving false hope.

"Jethro, You should really lock that door. Anybody could just walk in and steal something." Jenny said as she descended the stairs. She looked over at Gibbs who looked tense. "What's the matter? Where's Marli?" she asked looking around the basement.

Gibbs visibly relaxed and turned around and was surprised to see that Marli was no longer behind him. He had unconsciously stepped in front of her protectively so if anyone came to the basement door she was out of sight. Looking underneath the workbench his eyes sweeped for all the suspected hiding places and spotted underneath the boat a flash of a red jumpsuit. Walking over slowly so he didn't startle her he spoke calmly.

"Marli, it's okay to come out. It's just Jenny" he spoke softly. He crouched down despite the protest of his knee and saw that her eyes were squeezed shut. When she heard his voice she finally opened her steel grey eyes looked around when she saw that she wasn't back at Freddy's house and still at Gibbs' she smiled and nodded. He held out his hand and stood up so he could help her stand up.

"I suppose both of you forgot I was coming over huh?" She smiled and set the casefile on the workbench and then held up the bags of clothes so Marli could see them. "I got you some stuff to wear, I hope you like it".

Marli was surprised at how many bags Jenny had in her hand. There were probably more clothes in those bags than she had ever owned. Letting go of Gibbs hand she walked over and grabbed the bags from Jenny. "Thank you so much Jenny. This jumpsuit is kinda getting itchy." she pulled at the collar of the jumpsuit and itched her neck. She was so ready to get out of the ill fitting jumpuit and get some clean clothes on.

"Let's go upstairs and change" Gibbs spoke as he walked over setting down the sanding block that was still in his hand. "I'll show you your room and if you want to shower you can. Jenny can help you so you don't get your arm wet".

Marli nodded and waited for Gibbs to start up the stairs first then she followed and Jenny followed her. She was tired and she did need a shower the last one she took was three days ago.

Upstairs Gibbs opened the door to the guest bedroom, and let Marli go in first. "This is your room. Just set the clothes on the bed and I'll show you where the bathroom is" he said. She set the bags of clothes on her bed and then went back out in the hallway. She followed Gibbs down the hall where he opened another door which led to the bathroom. "I'll be downstairs. Jenny will help" he spoke as he walked by Jenny giving her a smirk which she returned, after he disappeared down the stairs Marli headed back to the guest bedroom to dig through the clothes Jenny bought for her.

There was four pairs of jeans, six shirts, socks, a hairbrush, and other essentials. At the bottom of one of the bags was a green hoodie. It almost matched the color of her favorite jacket that Abby had taken earlier. There was also a pair of pajamas too. "I love the shirts and the hoodie. Green is my favorite color" Marli said as she picked up the hoddie and held it up. She looked back at Jenny who was standing in the doorway.

"I'm glad you like them. I was worried that you wouldn't" she replied. "Go ahead and grab what you need and then we will find a spot to put them after you get cleaned up okay?"

Marli grabbed the pajamas and the hairbrush, and followed Jenny to the bathroom. She didn't if she would stay in the room as she showered or not she was just glad to get cleaned up. Jenny had already started the water and set out towels from the bathroom closet.

"I'll be outside if you need anything. There are fresh bandages in the closet so you can take the bandage off your arm and wash it." Jenny told her and turned to leave when Marli spoke up.

"Can you help me with the tape so it doesn't hurt?" she asked and Jenny nodded and came back. Marli held up her arm and Jenny grabbed the end of one of the peices of tape and carefully pulled. Marli winced and Jenny apologized she tried to go as gently as possible but Marli was still wincing when the gauze would get stuck to the cut. Jenny couldn't believe how nasty the wound looked but she schooled her facial features so she didn't scare Marli even though she knew Marli was thinking the same thing. After Jenny got the bandage off and made sure that it wasn't bleeding she left the room and shut the door so Marli could shower.

Marli peeled off the jumpsuit taking care not to hurt her arm. She took her shoes off and then tested the water Jenny had gotten it perfect and she stepped in. She washed her hair and body right away and then let the warm water soothe her ribs. She couldn't help but think that there was something going on between Gibbs and Jenny but she couldn't figure out what. Jenny apparently had been here before since she knew where the towel and first aid kit was. Turning off the water she stepped out and dried off. The pajamas were so soft and she put them on. Opening the door to left Jenny know she was done she started brushing her hair.

"Here let's get your arm done first then we can brush your hair" Jenny grabbed the box of gauze and sat on the edge of the tub so she could fix up Marli's arm. Once that was done Marli started on her hair again. It was so long and knotty that she just want to put it in a braid like she usually did but she doubted Gibbs had any hair elastics.

She would ask anyway "Did you get any hair elastics Jenny?"

Jenny turned to go into the bedroom and came back with a package of elastics that Marli didn't see earlier, and handed them to her. Since her hair went past her shoulders and to the middle of her back she decided on pigtails like Abby had. She parted her hair and braided both sides. She was starting to get really tired and yawned.

"Tired?" Jenny asked and Marli nodded through another yawn. "Go ahead and go lay down I'll grab your shoes" Marli didn't want to go to sleep without Gibbs coming up and talking to her first. She didn't want to be alone up in the room. In the room she sat on the bed and set the bags on the floor. At Freddy's all she had was a mattress and a blanket in her room. She was grateful the the mattress wasn't firm, and wouldn't irritate her ribs. She heard footsteps on the stairs and was glad that Gibbs was coming up so she could tell him thank you for letting her stay.

Gibbs walked into the room and saw that Marli had two braided pigtails and smiled. Abby had rubbed off on her apparently. They looked alot better than the tangled mess she had before. "Ready for bed?" he asked. Marli nodded and yawned. She pulled back the covers and slowly laid down, her ribs ached but it was a dull ache. The shower had definitely helped. Before she passed out she remembered to thank him.

"Thank you for letting me stay here Gibbs" she practically mumbled and before he could reply she was asleep. Gibbs pulled the blankets up over her and turned the light off. Jenny was just coming in carrying Marli's shoes and jumpsuit and smiled when she realized that she was asleep already. She looked at Gibbs and set down the stuff on the floor next to the bags of clothes and then tiptoed out into the hallway. She would help Marli put the stuff away tommorrow. They left the door open so they could hear her if she called for them and headed down the stairs to the basement.

"I've got Anna Warren's casefile Jethro. I thought that we could review it together. I want to reopen the case and solve it for Marli's sake" she told him once they made it to the basement. Gibbs nodded in agreement and grabbed the already open folder. Apparently he was thinking the same thing and had already started reviewing the file while she and Marli were upstairs.

"Let's get started" Jenny said as she hopped up on the workbench and grabbed the folder from Jethro's hands.

...

TBC...

**So what do you think?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the delay but once again I had a combination of writers block and no time on my hands to write. I hope you like this chapter! Thank you Fatal_Romantic for some ideas I really needed the help! **

**...**

_"Let's get started" Jenny said as she hopped up on the workbench and grabbed the folder from Jethro's hands. _

Jenny had been going through Anna Warren's casefile with Jethro for hours. Quickly looking at her watch she saw it had been exactly four and a half hours and she was starting to get tired. Anna had been killed by a hit and run driver. There were no witnesses and no evidence as to who did it. There was also no explanation why she was out in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. Fredrick Woodside was suspected but his car showed no evidence of anything much less a human being. Jenny couldn't understand how a crime like that could be committed and there be no way to solve it.

"Jethro, this files says that Marli was only three years old when Anna was killed. Do you think that she remembers her mother never coming home?" Jenny shook her head and hoped that wasn't the case.

Jethro shook his head too. "I can't say, Jen. She never said anything about her mother".

He got up from the stool and came to stand next to Jenny who still sat on his workbench reading the file. She had her reading glasses perched on the end her nose and he couldn't help but think that she looked cute with them on. He was broken from his thoughts by her voice.

"Three is awfully young to lose a mother. Which means that if she was three when it happened she would be around thirteen now. She seems so much younger than thirteen. It's amazing that after all these years child services didn't pick up on the abuse from Freddy".

That brought a thought to Jethro. One he voiced.

"Did you call social services and notify them that Marli would be staying with me?"

Jenny looked up quickly. She hadn't called. Even if she did there would no one in the department at this time of night anyway. "No I didn't. No one would have been there since it was so late when we left. I'll notify them in the morning" she went back to reading the file in her hands and then asked "Why I thought you didn't want her to go to child services?"

"I don't. I am just worried that they will make a fuss about a thirteen year old girl staying with..."

"An old man?" Jenny said with a smirk "If you want I'll stay here tonight if your so scared of the big bad social services department" she said smiling her trademark smile while looking completely happy that she was able to make a joke.

Jethro acted hurt and stood in front of her pulling the file she was reading out of her hands. "I'm not old. If you want to stay thats fine with me. Marli might be more comfortable with you here anyway." He returned the file back to Jenny's hands.

"She told me what Freddy did to her today" She said unwillingly. She didn't want to kill the playful atmosphere, but he would ask sooner or later and she thought sooner would be better. She looked up and watched as Jethro's eyes went deathly cold. She hated to see him angry, he scared her sometimes when they were in Paris, but he never directed his anger at her. She looked at them again and saw that they were silently telling her to continue.

"She also told me what happened to her ribs" she said sadly remember the pain in Marli's steel grey eyes as she told Jenny what happened. "A few weeks ago she decided that the only way to stop getting beaten was to run. She figured she would wait until Freddy got drunk and then make a break for it. Apparently he wasn't as drunk as she thought and he found her trying to get out. She said that he threw her against the wall and then punched her in the ribs as hard as he could" Jenny shivered. She couldn't believe what Marli had gone through all these years.

"Today Freddy was gone so she found a window that was unlocked and climbed out. She saw him drive by her and started running. She said that he must've seen the open window because he came running after her with a knife. He finally caught up with her and thats how she got the cut on her arm. You were there for the rest" She let out a breath and then saw how angry Jethro was. His eyes were normally guarded but at the moment she could read them.

"Jethro there is one more thing. The entire time that she was telling me what happened she never once cried. She was on the verge but she never let one tear fall. She is a brave girl" She reached her arm out and put her hand on Jethro's arm. She wanted to calm him down. Seeing him visibly relax somewhat she looked at his eyes again. Anger was still there but there was something else mixed in. Guilt. She had no idea why he would be feeling guilty.

Jethro looked down at Jenny's had on his arm and took a deep breath to relax. Her touch always did have a calming effect on him. When they were undercover in Europe and he was uneasy about a situation he would always go to her for comfort. He always chuckled at the irony.

"She is brave Jen. Are you sure that that she doesn't have any family?" He pretty much knew the answer before he asked it but he felt like he had to make sure that he didn't miss anything while reading the file.

Jenny shook her head sadly "Her father died six months before she was born from a brain aneurysm. Anna was adopted when she was an infant. Freddy has guardianship of her but never officially adopted her".

Jethro nodded. He figured as much that Marli would be all alone. He watched as Jenny hopped down from the workbench and stretched her legs. She then turned and started gathering up the papers she had strewn across the workbench and putting them back into the folder in the proper order.

He went to stand next to her so he could watch her profile and she reorganized the file. He was content to just watch her. He had memorized every part of her face a long time ago, but he still loved to just look at her. Feeling his eyes watching her intently she turned her head.

"What!" She exclaimed.

"I miss you" He had said it before he even realized he was thinking it, but he meant it.

"Jethro you see me everyday. How can you possibly miss me?" She turned her whole body so that she was facing him and looked confused by his statement. Had he gone mad? It was almost two in the morning but they both had been up later than that working on cases before.

"No. Its not the same. Everyday your the director of a Federal Agency. Before you were Jenny Shepard the field agent. There is a difference between Director Shepard and Agent Shepard. I miss Agent Shepard. I miss this." He motioned his hand between the two of them indicating his point. He couldn't believe that he had actually said what had been thinking since she became Director of NCIS. It was her reply that threw him.

"I miss this too, Jethro" she said looking down at her feet. She then quickly looked up to add "I love being Director don't get me wrong, but sometimes being stuck in the office and MTAC all day is just claustrophobic. Reading a case report is not the same thing as being out in the field."

Jethro smirked, he had finally gotten her to say that she missed being an agent. He knew that she did, but her saying it was much better. He stepped closer to her and she could feel the heat from his body he was so close. He took his hand and lifted her head so he could see those amazing emerald green eyes.

Smirking even bigger he said "I told you so, Jen". Just as Jenny thought he would kiss her they heard Marli scream.

**TBC...**

**So what do you think? Was that enough Jibbs for you or would you like more? Reviews make authors very happy!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Smirking even bigger he said "I told you so, Jen". Just as Jenny thought he would kiss her they heard Marli scream__**.**_

**...**

Jethro was the first one to fly up the stairs toward Marli's room. Jenny was right on his heels. It took less than two seconds for them to get up to the room and when they finally got there they were relieved to see no one besides Marli in the room, but what they did see broke their hearts.

Marli was tangled up in the sheets and thrashing like she was fighting somebody off. Her face pained and her breathing was labored. She obviously was having a horrible nightmare. Jenny was the first one to the bed, and Gibbs went to clear the other rooms just in case.

As Jenny sat on the edge of the bed Marli screamed out again, "NO!".

Jenny began saying her man loud enough to wake her up, but softly enough so as not to startle her.

"Shh, Marli it's okay your safe. Wake up honey", she tried to calm her down by running the back of her fingers down Marli's cheek like her father used to whenever Jenny had a nightmare as a little girl. She continued speaking softly, and running her fingers across her cheek until Marli stopped thrashing and slowly but surely her steel grey eyes opened.

She sat up quickly and looked around frantically. When she realized that she was still at Gibbs' place she relaxed. Her breathing was still labored and she was trying to control it. Jenny wasn't entirely sure that Marli realized that she was there until she spoke.

"Are you okay Marli?", Jenny asked and Marli flew into her arms. She was right Marli hadn't realized that she wasn't alone in the room.

"No, for a minute there I thought I was back in that house with Freddy. I thought for sure he would come in here and beat me for waking him up" Marli's answer was halfway muffled by Jenny's shoulder. Marli took in a shaky deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Not anymore Marli, Not anymore" Jenny replied gently rocking Marli and stroking her back comfortingly. It was then that Marli realized that Gibbs wasn't in the room.

"Where's Gibbs?" she asked pulling back to get a better look around the room. As soon as she asked he appeared in the doorway.

"I'm right here, kid" Gibbs smiled and came to sit next to Marli so that was in between him and Jenny. Marli's breathing had begun to even out, but she was clutching Jenny's shirt so tight that her knuckles were white. It was as though if she let go she would be instantly back with Freddy.

Gibbs noticed how tightly she was holding on to Jenny and knelt down in front of her and Jenny. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. Remember what I promised you earlier?". He was trying to calm her down, and he hoped it was working.

"You promised that you would keep me safe. That you would never let Freddy hurt me again" He could see that her grip on Jenny's shirt start to lessen.

"I promise that I will keep you safe as well Marli" Jenny put her free hand over her heart to show that she meant it and that it was a promise she was going to keep. Marli finally smiled and nodded. Then she remembered something from earlier.

"Gibbs, can you lock the front door? I might feel safer if it was locked"

Jenny smiled at this question and Gibbs slightly grinned as well. "Yeah, I will lock it. You want to come with so you can see for yourself that it is locked?" He stood up and held out his hand for Marli to take.

Marli let finally let go of Jenny's shirt and took his hand. Quickly turning around she faced Jenny, "I want you to come too" Copying Gibbs she held out her hand and Jenny stood up and took it. All three of them headed downstairs to lock the door. Jenny wondered if the deadbolt would actually work, she couldn't remember a single time she had seen Gibbs lock the front door.

"Marli you lock it so you know that it is done" Jenny told her letting go of her hand so Marli could turn the deadbolt. To Jenny's surprise it turned easily and wasn't stuck at all. Once the door was locked and Marli checked it a couple times they all headed back upstairs.

Marli didn't want to go to sleep. She was still scared that she would have another nightmare, but her body was screaming for sleep. She didn't want to be alone though. As Gibbs and Jenny tucked her into bed again and turned to leave she quickly grabbed Gibbs hand.

"Please don't leave, Can you stay at least until I fall asleep?", Gibbs nodded and replied, "Alright, I'll stay, do you want Jenny to stay too?" He already knew the answer before Marli nodded her head.

Jenny came around the other side of the bed and layed down on top of the blankets after she took off her shoes. Marli scooted over towards Jenny to make room for Gibbs. After turning the lights off he sat down on the bed and layed back against the headboard. Once they were all situated Marli snuggled into Jenny's side and within seconds fell asleep instantly.

Jenny smiled at the little girl curled up next to her. "Guess we aren't sleeping in pajamas, or finishing that conversation" she silently laughed and smirked at Jethro.

Jethro chuckled "Guess not, night Jen".

"Night Jethro", Jenny practically mumbled. Her eyes were already drooping and she looked like she was half asleep already. Just like Marli she was out like a light within seconds. He was a different story, he knew just by the way his mind was buzzing that there was no way he was going to get sleep tonight. At least not an efficient amount of sleep anyway. The boat down in the basement was calling him, but he didn't want to wake Marli. Deciding he would sit and wait until she was sleeping steadily so when he left she wouldn't wake; he sat and let his mind wander for a bit. Flashes of Paris, scenes of his days as a Marine, and events that happened earlier in the day swam in his head.

Looking down at his watch he was amazed that it had been two hours since Marli woke up. Moving slowly so as to not jostle the bed he got up and headed down the stairs to the basement. He first cleaned up the takeout boxes and put the leftovers in the fridge upstairs. _"That was probably the most food the fridge had seen in a long time", _he thought. As he picked up the sanding block that Marli was using earlier, his eyes went to the bottle of bourbon on the top shelf above the workbench. He quickly dismissed it, Marli had live with a man who drank heavily and it wouldn't be fair to there was the fact that Freddy was still out there and he needed to be alert for everyone.

Working on the boat was the best medicine for Jethro. It let his mind focus on what needed to be done in his personal and work life. Which brought a certain event into his head. The conversation between him and Jen earlier was now what he let his mind focus on. She had actually admitted to him that she missed being in the field. This was something that rarely ever happened even in the past it was hard for Jenny to admit that he was right. Then there was the moment between them that he was so sure that they were going to kiss. It had been a long time since they were that close to each other without trying to bite each others heads off. Chills went down his spine just thinking about what could have happened had they not been interrupted. Would it have been awkward afterwards or just like old times?

Then his mind went to the moment when Jenny had told him that Marli never once shed a tear when she told her about what happened with Freddy. He had this tremendous feeling of guilt when Jenny told him that and when she looked into his eyes he didn't mask it. He knew that she had no idea why he was feeling guilty but just showing it made some of it go away. Putting down the sandpaper to trade out a finer grain that same feeling hit him again. It was his fault that Marli had to live with that bastard. He didn't solve her mothers murder and because of that Freddy was free to make her life miserable. He shook his head to try and get rid of that thought but it was persistent. The case had gone cold and he felt like he had let both Anna and Marli down.

"I won't let you down this time Anna, I'll take care of Marli and make sure that Freddy is brought to justice. I promise" Jethro spoke aloud resting his hand on the case file. Turning to finish sanding the guilt faded away slowly. After a few more hours of sanding Jethro's eyes finally began to feel heavy. His watch told him that it way past his normal bedtime.

Heading up the stairs, he went straight to Marli's room and stood in the doorway. Marli and Jenny were still sleeping soundly. He smiled at how motherly Jenny looked with Marli snuggled into her side. He always did think Jen would make a great mother. Going into his bedroom he grabbed his pillow and two blankets. One he used to cover Jenny since she was above the covers and the others he used to cover with since he thought it would be better that he laid on the floor next to the bed instead of on it. Laying down he let his eyes drift shut.

**TBC...**

**So what do you think? Is it moving to slow do you think? Sorry for the delay. Being a senior in highschool is overwhelming. Reviews are always welcome!**


	10. Chapter 10

Standing in the bathroom of his cousins cabin Freddy massaged his jaw. He couldn't believe that that agent guy had actually gotten a chance to hit him. He was lucky enough to use his marine training to disappear from those agents that had been in the vehicles that pulled up. Also he knew that he had made a big mistake by not checking the windows when he left Marli home. He should have killed her so many years ago when her mother died. He scoffed to himself, he had gotten himself in deep just by one tiny detail that he had forgotten and now he had to fix it._ "I will need some help, time to call in a favor" _

Reaching into his pocket to recover the phone he had stolen from a woman on the street he quickly dialed a number. "Nicholas, hey is your father around? ... Oh he is… I see well uh could you tell him to call me? Thanks Nicholas" He ended the call with a sigh. He knew a phone call wouldn't help. He would have to take the chance of going back into the city to meet with the man he was trying to reach, the man that could fix this whole mess and put his plan into action.

He looked back into the mirror in the bathroom and could see that a bump on his forehead had formed and he hadn't noticed before. It must have been from when he head-butted that one agent to escape. _"Great, now it looks like I lost the fight"_

Freddy had a big plan to get rid of that wretched girl and that older agent who dared to get in his way once and for all. But first he would need a new car, and a gun. Heading out of the cabin door he grinned, the future was about to get very very interesting and fun.

**TBC...**

**Finally another chapter short but thats all i felt it needed i didnt want a big emphasis on freddy since this story is mainly a Marli/Gibbs/Jenny fic **

**REVIEWS!**


	11. Chapter 11

Marli sat in the outside office of the NCIS's director's office. She hated waiting and the chairs were by far comfortable. She looked at Jenny's door again and sighed, Gibbs and Jenny were in there with child services talking about what should be done with her. She hated waiting since she already knew the outcome. They would have no choice but to send her to a temporary foster home.

Marli was startled out of her thoughts when Cynthia stood up abruptly. "I'm going to the break room, would you like a soda?" Marli nodded she was kind of thirsty. Cynthia left and Marli was happy that she wasn't being watched. It took her a minute to realize that she was alone, that scared her. She hated that feeling of not having anyone to watch over her. Looking at the door she decided that she had to know what was going on. She gingerly stood up, since her ribs were pulling her a lot today. Tip toeing over to the door she gingerly put her ear against it and closed her eyes straining to listen. She could hear Gibbs' voice muffled through the door. She could tell he was get frustrated, so that had to of meant negotiations were going badly.

Backing away she lowered her head, she was never going to see Gibbs' or Jenny again. Her fate was that of her mothers, even if she was able to stay with them Freddy finding her was inevitable. He was highly connected with guys that even NCIS couldn't hold a candle to.

Deep in thought Marli hadn't realized that the door had opened and that the social worker was standing the door. She was pacing furiously picking at the bandage on her arm.

"Marli" The woman had said. Marli jumped and turned quickly her grey eyes wide.

"Do I have to go with you?" Marli stammered, she just wanted to get to the point. She was tired of not knowing her fate.

The woman shook her head, "No but you can't stay with Agent Gibbs, you will be staying with the Director instead, since Agent Gibbs will be working cases." She said it almost bitterly, Marli peeked around her to confirm this with Gibbs and he nodded.

"Now Marli if you need anything this is my card, my cell number is on the back so you can call me anytime okay?" Marli nodded and the woman walked out of the adjoining office.

Looking at the card in her hand, Marli halfway smiled. She still wasnt out of the clear, she had to tell them about Freddy's friends, she would've the day before but she was too shook up. Looking up she walked past Gibbs without saying a word and strode in front of Jenny's desk. She glanced to make sure Gibbs followed and he did. Waiting until she heard the door shut she spoke.

"Thank you so much for everything, I don't know what I would have done if I had to go with her. Freddy would definitely had found me a whole lot easier if I did." Marli felt the tears start to sting her eyes so she bit her cheek to stop them. _crying is for the weak._ Jenny spoke second.

"He will not find you when you are with me, Marli, and Agent Gibbs will make sure of that as well, won't you Gibbs?" Marli turned to watch him nod.

"I know that Jenny, and I am grateful but I am afraid that even the Directors security will not be enough. Freddy has friends. Powerful Friends. He will find me, it's only a matter of time" She shook her head. She had to make them understand.

Gibbs was watching Marli as she spoke, she was different than yesterday. He summed it up to the shock of being in pain. "Marli, do you have any idea who they might be? Happen to hear any names?" He knew it was a long shot but he had to try.

He wasn't surprised when she shook her head sadly. "No, he always locked me in my room when they came over, but sometimes when he was drunk he would talk about a cabin in the woods somewhere. He always threatened to take me their and hurt me if I ever tried to escape and report him."

That would be the first thing that Gibbs would look into property owned by any friends or family of Freddy. For now he needed to get downstairs and set the wheels in motion with Abby and McGee.

Jenny stood up, "Marli we will find him and we will stop him, Gibbs is going to go downstairs and I have to go into MTAC, for now do you mind staying downstairs and helping Abby?"

Marli thought for a second, "Yeah that would be okay, I can help her?" Jenny smiled, and walked with Marli towards the door to the office. By then Cynthia had already returned with Marli's drink and Marli took it and thanked her. After that Jenny and her headed towards the elevator to go down to the lab.

Watching them get in the elevator discussing exactly what a forensic scientist does, Gibbs headed down the stairs. He didn't want to involve the whole team, he planned on it being between Jen and him, but he figured that they were already involved and they wouldn't let him do this without some sort of resistance.

An hour later after bringing the team up to speed and telling them to look up Freddy's Military file and where he works now as well as any property that friends or family might own where he could hide out. They were good at their jobs he didn't have to be there. He headed up to Jenny's office. He needed to talk to her alone. Especially after last night.

**Finally an update! I know it is short but it says a lot...been a long time so let me know if its a little OOC**


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